Archive for the Team Building Category
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Do you have friends who won’t stop complaining about their jobs?
That was me 5 years ago. That’s why I started Work Happy Now. I wanted to do great work, but didn’t know how.
I knew that the only way for me to do great work was to work on my attitude, my skills and my ability to get results. Every day I would sit and research what made people happy at work. Why were some people so good at being happy and accomplishing great work while others just loved to complain?
I saw the bullshit that I put up with. I saw the lack of focus and motivation because of my attitude. I realized how I was making it difficult on myself to be happy.
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Why is the Game Angry Birds so Popular?
There are too many iPhone apps to keep track of. There are over 300,000 apps available on iTunes. When you include all the other smart phone apps available it’s head spinning. One of the most popular apps is the game Angry Birds. It’s #1 in many countries.
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Coworker Trust – Sometimes It’s Better to Give AND Receive
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Eileen Habelow, Ph.D. of Randstad
You work with them about 8 hours a day, 250 days out of the year. Depending on your line of work, you may see them more than you see friends and family. Your co-workers are an integral part of your ability to do your job, to develop and succeed in your career and even to ensure your day-to-day happiness. In this year’s Randstad Work Watch survey on coworker relationships, 70 percent of respondents said that workplace friendships create a more supportive and friendly workplace. That’s why building healthy, trusting relationships with these people is so important.
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Work Happiness Tip – Tag Your Co-Worker
I posted on Twitter about the importance of rewarding your co-workers. I love Twitter, by the way. The ability to connect with fun, smart and quirky people is brilliant.
A friend on Twitter told me that she likes to create tags for her co-workers.
I asked her what she meant and she explained that she likes to give out random acts of kindness to the people she works with. She draws beautiful pictures on pricing tags. She sent me these photos so I could share them with you.
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The Secrets to Workplace Leadership
I shared a drink with a friend who manages a team of five people. He was wondering how people’s moods can fluctuate in such a broad range, which affects the quality of their work. One of his employees is always up and down. He is engaged with his work one week and then he seems to lose interest. His interest fluctuates and he isn’t sure why.
We all have this problem it’s just that most of us force ourselves to stay focused. My friend told me that he has tried giving this employee various kinds of work to see what interests him, but that didn’t work either.
I asked him if he ever sits down with his staff to explain the reasoning behind the work.
He said he didn’t. He never really thought of that because it’s pretty obvious to him. They need to design websites that exceed the customer’s expectations.
He was losing out on a huge opportunity. People often stop looking at the larger picture because they get comfortable. This comfortable feeling reduces their desire to go above and beyond the normal effort.
A study at the University of Alberta showed that people need a sense of purpose in order to feel engaged with their work. A ‘Spirit at Work’ intervention program for a group of long-term health-care workers boosted morale and job retention. This program urged employees to rethink their job, which reduced absenteeism by 60% and turnover by 75%.
“We discovered that people who are able to find meaning and purpose in their work, and can see how they make a difference through that work, are healthier, happier and more productive employees,” said Val Kinjerski, a University of Alberta PhD graduate who co-authored the study.
- E-science news gathered this information from the Journal of Gerontological Nursing.
By helping your people understand why they do what they do – you can increase happiness and productivity.
I’m going to give you a few ideas that might help your employees/coworkers to connect with their work.
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Team Building Activity – Hint – Colorful Balls
Jeff Sloan, co-founder of Start-up Nation, talked at a Microsoft conference about creating your own business. He is a serial entrepreneur of electronics and various other media.
Jeff and his brother were promoting one of their gadgets at a conference and they bumped into a woman who was juggling, so they started juggling with her. They got to talking with the woman and hashed out a distributorship to sell the juggling balls throughout North America.
Their juggling package was the number 1 item sold for Father’s Day back in 1992.
They positioned their product as “Stress Relief for the Busy Executive.” An item that has been around since the pyramids in Egypt was the best selling product for fathers in the US. Jeff was able to do this because of a relationship that he created with the department stores.
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Wine Company is Buzzing about Work Happy Now
I love a forward thinking company. Artesano is definitely that. They are making honey (mead) wine from start to finish.
They make everything from scratch. They let the bees make the honey (Yes, they have their own bee farm in Vermont). They believe in high quality ingredients and excellent taste.
When I contacted Nichole, one of the owners, about helping them with their work happiness, I wasn’t sure what to expect. She was excited about the concept; I didn’t even have to do the hard sell.
We held the seminar on Sunday. Yes, I work on Sundays if that’s the best time for my client. Read their testimonial about my presentation – Karl Staib Presents His Work Happy Now Message.
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Why Don’t People Laugh at Work?
This is a guest post from Drew Tarvin
When I first started in the corporate world, I didn’t realize how little my fellow employees laughed. It wasn’t until I started doing corporate stand-up gigs that I noticed the distinct lack of chuckles, giggles, and guffaws in the workplace. The question is, why is laughter missing?
Stand-Up or Sit Down
After my very first corporate stand-up show, I thought I did terrible. No one had laughed as much as they did in the comedy clubs, and it didn’t seem like my jokes resonated with the audience. But after the show, the other comedian I performed with (a veteran on the corporate circuit) congratulated me, saying he was impressed with how well I did. I chalked it up to him trying to spare my feelings.
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How do I make my people happy?
So you want an atmosphere that encourages great work? Don’t we all. Most bosses and managers talk a good game, but they don’t create a plan to make it happen.
Almost every CEO I worked for always talked about the importance of their people, but their actions did not coincide with their words. They were always more worried about the bottom line.
I know how important it is to make money, but if the employees are happy then believe me, the money will come. That is if you have a good product/service.
It’s why Southwest airlines is the only consistent money generator in the USA airline industry. They believe in creating a culture that encourages happiness.
As a leader of people you need to encourage happiness in every facet of your business. I’ve created 10 techniques that will help your company be happy and successful.
- Be happy yourself.
- Know your people.
- Make time for your people.
- Show people the autonomy that they already have.
- Help them find meaning in their work.
- Listen and respond to their emotions, not their problems.
- Stop letting assholes dictate the company culture.
- Encourage friendships.
- Recognize hard work.
- Find out why people leave.
These are concepts that are easy to understand, but may be hard to apply to your company’s culture. I’ll break them down so you can use them in your company.
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Create A Members Only Club The Google Way
Google has a name for all their employees – Googlers. When I first heard this I thought it was cheesy, but the more I thought about it the more it made sense. They are a club of elite people who are trying to change the world. That’s the message that people want to send when they create a club. They feel special to be at a place where others want to be. They are proud to call themselves Googlers.
Google will never be the perfect work environment for every type of person. A lot of people don’t like the competition and the stress, but others do and it works for them. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. No place is perfect, but Google does a great job of creating an atmosphere that feels special.
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